The end of March marked the end of Women’s History Month. In order to acknowledge the women on South’s campus, “The Vanguard” spoke with some of the women’s clubs offered at the university. These clubs include Jaguar Women in Technology, Women’s Pre Health, Delight Women’s Ministry and Women in Business.

Jaguar Women In Technology

Jaguar Women In Technology (JWIT) started as a sub-organization under the Association for Computing Engineers. Eventually, a few members branched out and created their own organization and have been around since the late 2010s.

“We basically are an organization that aims to create a community that supports women in technology since there is a gender gap in those fields, usually in computing related jobs.” JWIT President Becca Clark said. “There’s about 20% that are women so we are aiming to get [to] 50%. Our club is making sure that women and anybody who wants to come has the resources at South and then afterwards too.”

The club co-hosts meetings in collaboration with Career Services to give its members access to resources that can help develop their educational and professional careers. The club also offers volunteer opportunities.

“Anybody who wants to support women in technology and bridging that gender gap in any sort of field [is welcome to join],” Clark said.

Women’s Pre-Health Club

Women’s Pre-Health Club started off as a smaller club with little involvement on campus. The club originally had only two board members. Both were graduating, leaving the club on the brink of being forgotten.

“The constitution that [the founders] created, which we obviously kept and we continued to grow on, basically just [sets] women up for success in healthcare no matter what specialty or area of healthcare [they’re] going into, whether that’s nursing, pre-PA, dental, even veterinarians,” said Club President Lexie Tate. “Anything like that, we just want to set women up for success in a male-dominated area.”

The club brings in speakers of all different specialties to speak to its members, some of them offering shadowing opportunities. Women’s Pre-Health also collaborates with other health associations at health socials.

“We are like a little family, we’re all really cool with each other and everyone gets along so well,” Tate said. “We’re all on the same page with a lot of things and we all pull our part so it makes everything run [smoothly] and I think that’s a really big milestone just creating relationships with people to where the club can run so smoothly.”

Delight Women’s Ministry

Delight Women’s Ministry, commonly referred to as Delight, formed in the spring semester of 2021. It is a national organization with over 200 chapters across the United States. The club meets once a week for worship, bible study recap, and small groups. 

“Our goal is to make girls comfortable and to find a home and community on campus,” Delight President Emma Cross said. “Even if you don’t necessarily believe the same thing, it’s okay. You’re there to forge those friendships and forge that community, and obviously the goal is to glorify God and grow closer to him throughout all of that, but we’re also here to walk alongside each other just going through life and throughout school.”

The club has partnered with Passage USA and the Women’s Resource Center in service projects. In the future, Delight leaders are planning to work with Penelope House.

“Everybody that I’ve met is so genuine and kind because at this point nobody is forcing you to be there and that is the culture that we’ve worked really hard to create; a culture that [is rooted in creating] a safe space for people to come [and ask questions], even if they don’t have their faith figured out,” Cross said.

Women In Business

Women in Business (WIB) is a new organization that was recently established in the spring semester of 2024. The club’s mission is to provide women with resources and opportunities that were previously unavailable and to foster a community for women in business on South’s campus.

“Being able to have a chance to hear the experiences of women just to learn tips, tricks, [and how to] navigate the field of business as a woman [is what the club is about] because it’s very different than how a man would do it,” WIB President Brooklynn Boggs said. “We also have a variety of opportunities to network. There’s opportunities for a lot of different people to join — a lot of people just don’t have those connections and friendships, so this just really provides them with a place where they can come and get all of the experience without feeling judged or intimidated.We want to make sure all the women that come feel safe, included, and valued there.”

Cross from Delight also serves as the WIB Vice President.

“There’s not really a class you can go to that teaches you how to network with people or how to interact with people, so this kind of lowers the barrier of entry for those things because it’s a lot more accessible for people,” Cross said.

Some of the other campus groups that focus on women empowerment include Women of Excellence (WOX), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) and Feminist Empowerment Movement (FEM).
All regularly enrolled students can be a member of the above organizations, regardless of sex or gender.. For updates and more information on the clubs mentioned, students can access their instagram accounts: JWIT, Women’s Pre-Health, Delight, WIB, WOX, SWE, FEM, WOS.